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Health Insurance–California and the U.S. aren’t the only places with problems.

09-03-2008 by Colleen King

I was on vacation last week, and even though I was out of cell phone and computer/wireless range, there’s always someone talking about health insurance.

I was in a cab on the island of Aruba, which is beautiful. My boyfriend and I with another couple had gone to a great beach and in the cab on the way back, we were asking the gentleman driving us to tell us a bit about Aruba (other than what we knew about Natalie Holloway!)

He was of Dutch origin and had lived there most of his life. Said it was beautiful and safe, but like anywhere, things were changing. Health care coverage was free (remember, that always means higher taxation!) but they were having a huge influx of Colombians which was a burden on their system. He groused that when one comes, the whole family comes and often times they aren’t working, ergo they aren’t paying taxes or contributing to the system. Just draining it. Sound like familiar complaints?

In California, it’s the Central Americans who are often blamed as a problem. Several years ago when I spent a lot of time in Italy, it was the Tamils, the people from Sri Lanka that were ‘draining’ the economy. Every country has it’s problems, and part of it seems to evolve from people in poorer nations striving to make a better life for themselves and their families in a better place.

Health care is only one piece of a ‘better life’ and it costs money. What do we do about it? There are so many ideas, but whatever you think is a great way to change our current system, it won’t happen quickly. The more people that buy health insurance, healthy people rather than just those who are ill, the more money that goes into ameliorating the risk–right now, who buys it? People anticipating needs whether it’s planning a family and all the care costs that come with having babies, people getting older fearing illness, and so on. Younger healthy people also need to get on the band wagon, even though they ‘don’t need it.’ You may not develop asthma or high blood pressure in your 20s, but what about that snowboarding accident or amateur sports injury? Running down the stairs in a hurry and either badly spraining or breaking an ankle. That costs too, and those are the kinds of things that can saddle a young person with a ton of bills that would have been avoided with a decent health plan.

So until the ‘big reform’ (lord help us all!) takes place, covering yourself and your family, if it can be done without costing a fortune, seriously look at doing it. That’s not just a sales ploy on my part, it’s reality. Significant reform will take a few years at best. Meantime, help avoid the potential pitfall of financial ruin by seeking some sort of coverage. A good agent will help you find what fits you best. Be well!